The Chinese Radio and Television Administration has published new rules for broadcasting on the Internet: children under 16 are now prohibited from sending donations to streamers and watching live broadcasts after 22:00.

Image source: Dr StClaire / pixabay.com

Sending money, more specifically, virtual gifts that can then be exchanged for money, to streamers is a common practice. And now, platforms that organize broadcasting on the Web are ordered to prohibit users under the age of 16 from purchasing and sending such gifts.

The regulator justified the next tightening of the regulatory framework by the fact that live broadcasts, to the authors of which money is sent, damage the mental and physical health of underage viewers. This is not the first time Beijing has imposed restrictions on streaming: in July last year, children under 16 years old were banned from appearing in any live video broadcasts, and minors were also banned from being persuaded to receive any material income using the Internet.

The Chinese streaming market has been booming since the start of the pandemic, with real-time online sales dubbed “live commerce” becoming a trend. People began to buy products that were offered during popular broadcasts – sometimes they lasted for hours. The trend has been picked up by both single influencers and major platforms, including Taobao from Alibaba, Kuaishou, Pinduoduo and Douyin (TikTok) from ByteDance.